Question
Orchid Progress
Just to give you some general information about my plant, the original spike has two branches (not sure what the technical term is), growing at two consecutive nodes. The lower one has been growing beautifully, exhibiting three buds that look round, plump, and healthy. The one growing one node above this has remained very small, will this one grow further like the one below it??? Moving on, I want to repot my orchid because it's in the same sphagnum i got it in over a year ago. I live in Toronto Canada, is the timing right? Is it okay to do it now before the buds start to bloom? Also, I know I should remove all the dead roots, should I cut them (they seem hard to remove by hand, the outer layer just comes off#? And would it be ok if I mixed some of the sphagnum with Orchid bark for the plant medium? And am I supposed to dampen, or soak, the medium before using it? If not a good time, when should I do it? And if not a good mix, what would be best? Also, how can I safely promote keiki growth in my plant? I've attached a photo which is actually four photos in one jpeg file which show the entire original stem with the two growing from it at the nodes, one is a close of of the one that just started to grow but stopped #I believe they both started to grow at generally the same time), a close up of the one with the buds on it, and a photo of the leafy area in the pot and the medium its been in since I got it. Thanks for all your time and help!
AnswerThanks for your photos and questions Sophia. Your plant looks very healthy and I see no reason for concern. Dead orchid roots are only found in a badly decayed potting mix. Aerial roots such as can be seen in your photos possess a sheath called a velamin. As these roots grow outward, the air around them becomes less humid and they develop a layer of corklike material to prevent loss of root moisture. If you have any root rot, you will only discover it when you unpot your plant preparatory to repotting. Rotted roots are mushy and should be cut off. Healthy roots are firm and turn green when wet.
I would not repot your plant until it is no longer in bud or flower. By repotting your plant, you will disturb the roots feeding nutrition to the flower spikes and could result in bud drop. I would not use oak bark as it contains tannins which could prove toxic (that's why only fir bark is used in orchid potting mixes). Some garden centers stock orchid potting mix-- you should have no trouble finding it in Toronto.
Any current or future branches in the flower spike are capable of elongation and bud formation. Sometimes bud formation on one spike might temporarily inhibit elongation and/or bud formation on a nearby branch of the flower spike. This conserves plant energy, enabling it to be directed toward development of existing buds. Keiki growth is usually inhibited by spike branching, bud formation and flowering. When bud formation ceases, you can repot your plant and move it into a dark room for a week to stimulate keiki production.
When the time is right for repotting, the commercially marketed orchid potting mix containing fir bark should be soaked as needed prior to use. That is because fir bark repels water when it is dry and soaking it for an hour before use will break down the water repellency. You could add a bit of long fibered spahagnum moss to the potting mix-- especially for plants that have been growing in sphagnum moss. If the commercially prepared orchid potting mix contains some moss, I would not add any more to it.
